i got my bike last fall and what follows is a summarized version of my introduction post and others:
my first Ducati is also my very first bike. the only other bike i've ever actually wanted was a Ninja, but what 12 year old didn't, rite? in like '97 i saw a 916 in an issue of Cycle World or whatever and decided that i liked Ducatis. i also went thru a stage where i wanted a Buell. i didn't know what a monster even was back then, but i do remember having seen them and thinking they were pretty cool. i think i prob'ly had an appreciation for their brutal simplicity before i knew there even was such a thing. but a monster is just not a SUPERbike and i was still stuck on that. it wasn't until about 10 years later i had a spiritual experience. i was watching an episode of a stunting show on the Speed Cannel called Superbikes all about the Monster and it was then that i first recognized the bike on its own merits, not as a finished product, but a platform for customization and personalization. i realize now i was just becoming infected with the modding bug.
enyways, i realize it's a matter of personal taste, but there's actually a few things about the Monster I don't like (read: hate).
1. high handlebars = upright riding position
2. the low hanging exhaust and the ugly stock mufflers
3. that ridiculous looking operation hanging off the rear
4. reflectors and stock turn signals
5. those silly looking mickey mouse ear mirrors
6. that ginormous 1940s style headlight
then i was looking on gregslist and saw this:
the previous owner (actually, a DMF member who sold me a great bike and introduced me to the forum. thanx B!) has saved me alot of trouble by performing a tailchop, installing lsl clip ons and lowering the headlight and instrument cluster, replacing the stock exhaust with high mounted GPR stainless ovals (shortened a few inches for aesthetic reasons), there's also a Vizi-Tech integrated LED tail light and a CF front fender. Some may argue that he also saved me the fun of doing it myself, but those are all things I would have preferred to change before I even rode it at all, and all or most being beyond my current financial means or technical expertise, who knows how long it would've been before I achieved anything remotely close to my vision. besides, i've still got the whole headlight issue to deal with. some other mods i'm planning are a carbon belly fairing and rear mudguard, bar-end turn signals and sportline grips, cleanup the wiring, airbox mod, and a few other things, but first things first....that frkn headlight has GOT to go!
here's a few pics of the bike when i first got it:
if i had more tools and a heated garage this post would be more interesting, but i have done a few things and would like to create an up to date read of my mods before my girl comes home (she's having a little cosmetic work done)
the first thing i got for her was a nice bar end LED signal and mirror kit from motowheels. this included a pair of Oberon bar-end LED turn signals and CRG Blindsight mirrors.
here's a pic i borrowed from the catalog:
and here's how mine turned out:
what's wrong with this picture? if you answered they're both flashing, you're right!
fn wiring! this is where the forum really came thru for me, and quick. (for the details check this thread:
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=46231.0) the gist of it is that a small amount of current was "leaking" across the indicator light in the dash. this current is not enuff to light a conventional bulb, but plenty to light the LEDs. two possible solutions were to cut into the harness and install resistors in line or go into the gauge cluster and solder in some diodes. i chose option 2. pics below are of my schematic and some wiring:
and success!
looking at these pics i guess is when i first realized how ugly the stock top triple is. make a mental note; move on. but dang those bar ends look sweet!
the next thing i had to do was address the exhaust issue. the wrap on the pipes had once been black, i am told, but had blanched badly. to me it looked like mummy bandages. i wasn't even sure what i was going to do with pipes, but i knew they would have to come off to do it. duc mnpls was coming to get my step dad's SS and i wanted to have my pipes ready to send along. there is a thread on the whole process (
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=45659.0) did the ultimate of rookie mistakes. while removing the bolts that secured the rear set/passenger peg carriers on the left side, i pulled one of the two that held the side stand. obviously, the bike fell. fortunately, i was on the floor and broke its fall so nothing was damaged. here goes some before and after:
i bounced around a few ideas from cleaning them up myself and hitting them with some VHT, to having them wrapped again, polishing them, or going with a ceramic coating of some sort. i finally settled on ceramic coating. it was actually this pic of the pipes on uglyducky's ride that made up my mind. long boring story short: duc minneapolis now has an account with the same JetHot coater that did his pipes. here's a pic of that:
i haven't seen mine yet and its killing me. if they look half that good i couldn't complain tho. so my pipes went off to the shop ahead of my bike, which gave me a little more time to mess with it. i decided to test fit a CF belly fairing i got on here (thanx kev!) and see how it looked. i also did a little painting. sprayed the u-bracket, headlight mounts, bezel, and bucket in flat black. spray paint doesn't seem to be a long term solution and i'm sure i will be doing a lot of touching up. maybe i could have prepped better? i'd have the stuff PCed, but this is the wrong time to be taking sh*t off the bike and sending it out. next year. for now, spray paint will have to be good enough.here's more crappy cell fon pics of the test fit and paint work:
maybe it wasn't the light i disliked after all. i think it was the chrome cuz it doesn't even bother me anymore. i'm still looking for other options for replacing the bulbs and reflector tho. maybe something like one of these:
the bike was picked up a few weeks ago for a check up and to have the exhaust installed. it would have been done last week (mid march), but i found this on ebay with 19 hrs left, checked it out with a forum member for fit on my model (props j v), then got it for a little over a bill:
i might have coulda put it on myself, but the bike is already in their hands so i ran the part down there to have it installed. next pics will be of the finished product. (until next time)
